The Policing of Protest in the Netherlands A Comparative Study of Extinction Rebellion and Farmers Defence Force
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2025-06-13
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en
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This thesis investigates why protests in the Netherlands receive different police responses. While protest policing in liberal democracies is often assumed to follow principles of neutrality and legality, this study challenges that assumption by examining how the social and political characteristics of protest groups influence state behaviour. Using a comparative case study approach, it analyses four protest events: two climate actions by Extinction Rebellion in 2023, and two farmers' protests by the Farmers Defence Force in 2019. All four cases involved disruptive tactics, including road blockades, yet were policed very differently.
Building on the theories of Tilly (1978), Della Porta (1996), Goldstone & Tilly (2001) and Earl et al. (2003), the thesis evaluates four explanatory variables: group power, political alignment, perceived threat, and group marginality. The findings show that protest policing is not merely a response to protest behaviour, but rather shaped by how protest groups are positioned within the political and social order. Extinction Rebellion, a politically isolated and symbolically marginalized group, faced repressive policing in both cases. Farmers Defence Force, by contrast, enjoyed economic power, social legitimacy, and partial political support, and received tolerant or moderate responses.
These results suggest that even in democratic contexts, protest policing operates selectively. The state treats some groups as legitimate dissenters and others as threats, regardless of their tactics. This has important implications for how we understand protest rights, democratic accountability, and state power.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen